The First Crusade was launched in 1095 by Pope Urban II with the dual goals of conquering the sacred city of Jerusalem and the Holy Land and freeing the Eastern Christians from Muslim rule. What started as an appeal by Byzantine Emperor Alexius I Comnenus for western mercenaries to fight the Seljuk Turks in Anatolia quickly turned into a wholesale Western migration and conquest of territory outside of Europe. Both knights and peasants from many nations of Western Europe travelled over land and by sea towards Jerusalem and captured the city in July 1099, establishing the Kingdom of Jerusalem and other Crusader states. Although these gains lasted for less than two hundred years, the First Crusade was a major turning point in the expansion of Western power, as well as the first major step towards reopening international trade in the West since the fall of the Western Roman Empire.
They fought against the Muslims in a number of Crusades.
The Pope called for the people to take up arms and fight against the Muslims. A series of battels called "Crusades" took place over a period of several years.
The Crusades were a massive military invasion and this was the mechanism by which Christians attempted to "liberate" the Holy Land from the Muslims.
The European Christians viewed the Muslim Turks as if they were evil villans. They took over the land that was rightfully theirs. At least in the mind of the European Christians.
Before the land was Muslim it was Christian.
The church called for the Crusades in response to perceived threats to Christianity, such as the Turkish expansion into the Byzantine Empire and the Muslim control of Jerusalem. They also saw it as an opportunity to reunite the Eastern and Western branches of Christianity and to assert their influence and power. Additionally, the Crusades provided a way to channel and control the violence present in society at that time.
They were Christians so they wanted to get the Holy Land (Jerusalem in Palestine) back from the Muslim people.
The Christians took Jerusalem from Muslim control.
The Christians took Jerusalem from Muslim control.
The Christians took Jerusalem from Muslim control.
The Christians took Jerusalem from Muslim control.
The Christians took Jerusalem from Muslim control.
The Christians took Jerusalem from Muslim control.
The Christians took Jerusalem from Muslim control.
The holy land referred to by crusaders was Jerusalem, as it held great religious significance for Christians, Muslims, and Jews. The crusades were military campaigns initiated by European Christians to reclaim Jerusalem from Muslim control.